Simplify Life, Reduce Stress

Use yoga to bring balance and wellness into your life and return to your own true nature.  

Why Yoga Therapy?

Yoga philosophy teaches us that our true nature is a place of balance, clarity and joy.  However often we instead find ourselves in a place of imbalance.  Maybe we notice tightness or uncomfortableness in the body like pain in the back or a strained neck.  Or perhaps we notice something physiological like high blood pressure, difficulty sleeping, metabolic disorders, agitated breathing patterns, etc.  Others may notice it more on the mental level with regard to thought patterns, memory issues or the ability to concentrate. Or we can feel emotionally disturbed or spiritually confused.  From the perspective of yoga therapy, these are all considered imbalances in the human system and each of these layers of the system can impact the other. And we can certainly experience disturbances in more than one layer.  We can have an emotional issue that can manifest in the physiological, mental, or physical body and we can have a physical issue that can manifest in the physiological, mental, or emotional level of our human system. Examples of these may be when depression impacts our physical body. Or when our physical pain can contribute to depression. Or how our anxiety affects our breathing patterns which can lead to panic.  Our mother in law really can be a pain in the neck.  A bridge to balance is possibly available through the tools of yoga therapy; physical postures, breathing, meditation, sound, and others.

I have been extensively trained in the use of these tools, and how to use them to self- empower you to encourage your system towards wellness.  Because of my background in mental health many of those who come to me initially present with anxiety or depression or both. In yoga therapy there is the ability to make a distinction between depression in the body and depression in the mind, or anxiety in the body and anxiety in the mind. The individualized yoga therapy practice can be designed to address these differences. 

Additionally, often when we are out of balance it shows up in other symptoms such as sleep struggles, problems with digestion, difficulty in communication, etc.  As you come into better balance often these other issues may improve too.

Yoga as stress relief

Many of us live in a world of chronic stress.  It is not the acute stress that is the problem, as a little stress can be good for us, allowing the nervous system to be strong and resilient.  It is the never ending stress occurring without ability to recover and reset. The evidence is clear that stress takes its toll on the body manifesting as early aging, digestive issues, endocrine irregularities, suppressed immune system, high blood pressure, diabetes, etc.  It also impacts the mind and our ability to focus and feel calm and stable. Chronic stress can be responsible for emotional strain and continued chronic stress can lead to burnout, where our system is running on fumes.

Yoga therapy offers specific practices to reset the nervous system and encourage healthier patterns in the body, breath and mind.  It is possible to change the quality of one’s life by implementing a short daily practice targeted at reducing the harmful impacts of stress.

Yoga and Spirituality

Many of those with whom I work are looking to deepen their spiritual connection. Although raised Catholic, I was never deeply steeped in that religion.  And until I found yoga, I did not feel I was given the tools to assist in deepening my connection to the Divine.  I spent 15 years prior to practicing yoga investigating  Jungian psychology, Kaballah, Sufism and mystical Christianity.  Although all of these were steps along my spiritual path, and continue to inform my journey, yoga has been the most helpful because of the added tools it provides.  Yoga does not require a belief in a higher being or force, it is a choice.  However, the Yoga Sutras, the major ancient yoga text, informs us that having a connection to something higher than ourselves is helpful in our journey in life, and gives specific instruction in how to invite that connection.  I remain a student continuing each day to explore my own connection and I enjoy walking beside others who also are interested in that exploration.  Give yourself the opportunity to discover how a daily practice designed for your own spiritual journey incorporating movement, breath, sound and meditation may help you get to a place of balance and wellness; resting in your own true nature.